Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoMICHAEL CONROY | APDespite Wisconsin having played three quarterbacks in its run-based offense this season, receiver Jared Abbrederis, middle, has 38 catches, the most on the team by far.

Wisconsin receiver Jared Abbrederis has been tasked with being the go-to guy for three quarterbacks this season.

But Abbrederis, a top target of NFL-ready Russell Wilson last season, has ridden the Badgers’ quarterback carousel with no complaints.

“Each one has a different style,” Abbrederis said. “It’s a little bit tough, honestly, to go from guy to guy to guy. But that’s the way it is. We didn’t have a starter named (before the season), so we had all summer and fall to work with each guy. That has helped as the season has gone on.”

Abbrederis has made the best of a season in which Wisconsin has struggled to replace Wilson, starting three quarterbacks in a season for the first time since 1987.

Abbrederis ranks second in the Big Ten with an average of 76.6 receiving yards for the run-first Badgers. He has 38 receptions and five touchdowns; no other Badger has more than 18 catches.

But the former walk-on and high-school track star has a history of unlikely success. Abbrederis played with such fire as a redshirt, scout-team quarterback in 2009 that it forced the coaching staff to move him to receiver to get him on the field.

He played every game in 2010 and emerged as one of the conference’s best receivers and returners last year, ending the season as the nation’s No.3 punt returner (15.8-yard average) and the Big Ten’s No.6 receiver (66.6 yards per game).

Although he lost a costly fumble late in the Rose Bowl, Abbrederis racked up 119 receiving yards and returned eight kicks for a school-record 201 yards in a 45-38 loss to Oregon. He had 346 all-purpose yards, one short of Ron Dayne’s school record of 347 in a game.

Abbrederis was awarded a long-overdue scholarship three weeks later. But he maintains his old work ethic.

“As a walk-on, you’re never satisfied, and you’re always working to get better,” Abbrederis said. “That’s a mindset I will keep throughout my career.”

Abbrederis had a career game against Ohio State last season. He caught six passes for 113 yards and two second-half touchdowns, the second of which gave Wisconsin a 29-26 lead with 1:18 remaining.

But Braxton Miller hooked up with Devin Smith for a 40-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds to propel the Buckeyes to a 33-26 win.

It’s all ancient history to Abbrederis.

“Maybe after I’m done playing, I’ll look back on that as a pretty good game and one that I wish we could have won,” he said. “But we’ve got to focus on the next game on the schedule, and that’s Ohio State” today.

Abbrederis caught only one pass last week at Indiana, but the Badgers threw only seven times as they steamrolled their way to a school-record 564 yards rushing in a blowout victory.

When Heisman hopeful Montee Ball gets rolling, as he did last Saturday, the Badgers are content to roll right along with him, Abbrederis said.

“You want to get the ball thrown to you, obviously, but if we’re having success because of some downfield blocking, I’m happy,” Abbrederis said. “You take pride when your guy doesn’t make the tackle.”

Ball, in turn, takes that to heart.

“ I think our wide receivers are blocking at a level right now, and that gets Montee fired up,” coach Bret Bielema said.